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La Suisse et le personnel de santé étranger:

Communiqué de presse


  • Swiss Contributions to Human Resources for Health Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
    Complete Study
    Download (PDF, 912 KB) :  [en]  
  • Swiss Contributions to Human Resources for Health Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
    Summary
    Download (PDF, 3177 KB) :  [en]  
  • Fiche de synthese sur les études
    Download (PDF, 109 KB) :  [fr]  
  • Recherche qualitative sur le personnel de santé étranger en Suisse et sur son recrutement
    Download (PDF, 637 KB) :  [de]   [fr]  
  • Ausländisches Gesundheitspersonal in der Schweiz
    Download (PDF, 669 KB) :  [de]  

Labour Migration

Arbeitsmigration_web.jpgNinety percent of international migration is work-related. Economic globalization has made the international labour market more flexible, with a corresponding rise in the number of migrant workers. The SDC is committed to ensuring that labour migration can take place within a sound legal and social framework.

Labour migration is often the result of poverty and financial need in the migrants' home countries. People leave their homes in search of a secure income, and in the hope of improving their financial circumstances and personal safety.
The term "migrant workers" also includes an increasing number of highly-qualified individuals, who leave their home countries to take up new professional challenges abroad. Labour migration is often founded on fixed-term employment contracts.

Opportunities
Labour migration can promote development. The work done by migrant workers not only benefits they themselves, their families and their home countries, but also their host countries. Migration leads to the transfer of money, goods, knowledge and ideas, and helps the workers' countries of origin become more closely integrated in to the global economy. Frequently, migration means not only going away, but also coming back. With their knowledge, capital and international experience, labour migrants can contribute significantly to the growth of their home countries.

Worth Knowing

• According to estimates, in 2030 some 40% of all workers world-wide will come from India or China.
• In 2008, international recruitment agencies generated an estimated turnover of USD 225 million world-wide, placing around 900,000 migrant workers in new employment.
•

North America is the favoured destination for migrants, followed by Europe and the Middle East.

Current Challenges
In many host countries, migrant workers are among the most vulnerable sections of society. They often have no rights, and suffer under poor working and living conditions. Although international standards for the protection of migrant workers exist, they are often ignored. In many cases, the debts owed to recruitment agencies are an additional burden. Agency costs for a job abroad can be many times the migrant's monthly salary. Women – who account for almost half of migrant workers around the world – are the most vulnerable.
Furthermore, in developing states global economic disequilibria can mean that well-qualified workers leave the country and never return. This brain drain can hinder the development of the migrants' homeland. The problem is particularly acute in the healthcare sector.
The international mobility of workers and job-seekers can be a development opportunity for all concerned. To make the most of this potential, there must be closer international cooperation, regulatory measures in home and host countries, and a willingness to grant migrants their rights.

The SDC Focus

The SDC's primary aim is to maximize the benefits of labour migration for migrants themselves and for their families in their home countries, and thus contribute to the development of the latter. Efforts are concentrated on migration among women, the implementation of labour migration policies (preparation for short-term migration, support with re-integration in the migrant's home country), and improving the position of migrants under labour law ("decent work"). Within the SDC, the issue is handled mainly by the Global Programme Migration section. It is involved in projects concerning labour migration, with a particular emphasis on southern Asia (Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh) and the Middle East (Yemen, Syria).

Theme contact: Barbara Affolter Goméz

Additional Information and Documents